In this file photo of Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, flowers and a card hang on a fence in front of New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, N.J. Whitney Houston's funeral will be held Saturday, Feb. 18 at the church where she sang in the choir as a girl. Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, died Saturday. She was 48.

(Mel Evans)

In this file photo of Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, flowers and a card...

FILE - In this Oct. 13, 1997 file photo, Whitney Houston looks over her shoulder as her husband Bobby Brown looks to her at the premiere of "The Wonderful World of Disney" movie "Cinderella," at Mann's Chinese Theater in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles, Whitney Houston, who reigned as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, has died, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. She was 48. (AP Photo/Rene Macura, File)

In this photo provided by the Las Vegas News Bureau, Whitney Houston performs during the Billboard Awards at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Dec. 7, 1998. Often referred to as the Queen of Pop music at her best, Houston ex-wife of singer Bobby Brown, died Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012 at the age of 48. (AP Photo/Las Vegas News Bureau)

(Darrin Bush, ASSOCIATED PRESS / AP2012)

In this photo provided by the Las Vegas News Bureau, Whitney...

Donzaleigh Abernathy places a flower at a memorial outside the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, died Saturday, Feb. 11. She was 48.

(Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Donzaleigh Abernathy places a flower at a memorial outside the...

Fans take pictures of a bronze disk honoring Whitney Houston's Record of the Year and Album of the Year in the 36th Grammy Awards, in LA Live before the 54th annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, in Los Angeles.

(Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Fans take pictures of a bronze disk honoring Whitney Houston's...

FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2011 file photo, producer Clive Davis shares a moment with singer Whitney Houston performs at the pre-Grammy gala & salute to industry icons with Clive Davis honoring David Geffen in Beverly Hills, Calif. The demand is overwhelming for Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy gala. The gala has featured performances from top acts like Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin and Carlos Santana. This year, The Kinks will take the stage to play a medley of their hits, with the help of Jackson Browne and Elvis Costello. Mumford & Sons are hoping to arrive in time to get in on the performance, Davis said. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, file)

In Houston's hometown of Newark, N.J., her family plans a private church service, with no public memorial set. In Los Angeles, where she died, there's not even a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for fans to pile flowers. So for the legion of music lovers mourning a global superstar, where do broken hearts go?

According to the Associated Press, fans who have gathered outside the church where Houston will be eulogized Saturday at an invitation-only service — and outside the funeral home where her body now rests — say they understand why the family wants to keep the world out the best they can. But they also yearned for the chance to fully share in the grief and the remembrance of a native daughter who made it big and made them proud.

Samuel Turner Jackson, of Newark, said he was looking forward to heading down to "The Rock," as the Prudential Center is known. Before, that is, the funeral home announced Tuesday that no public service would be held at the 18,000-seat arena, an option that had been discussed.

The arena, home to the NHL's New Jersey Devils, displayed an image of Houston on a screen outside Tuesday.

Houston, 48, died Saturday at a hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., just hours before she was scheduled to perform at producer Clive Davis' pre-Grammy Awards bash. Officials say she was underwater and apparently unconscious when she was pulled from a bathtub.

Authorities said an autopsy found no indications of foul play or obvious signs of trauma on Houston. It could be weeks, however, before the coroner's office completes toxicology tests to establish the cause of death.